The Dinner
by Whiskey
Summary: Bella thought Charlie’s dinner with Billy and Sue would be awkward after his visit to the Cullen’s in Breaking Dawn. Here’s how it may have happened. Oneshot.


Disclaimer: We all know they belong to Stephanie.

Summary: Bella thought Charlie's dinner with Billy and Sue would be awkward after his visit to the Cullen's in Breaking Dawn. Here's how it may have happened. Oneshot.

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**The Dinner**

I pulled the cruiser up at Billy's and waited a moment before cutting the engine, unsure I was ready to face my oldest friend. I'd just spent an entire afternoon at the Cullen's feeling like I might be living through an episode of _The Twilight Zone, _and Billy had some serious explaining to do.

Before now I'd always dismissed my vague feeling that there was something ... wrong about the Cullen clan, something a bit too perfect, a bit ... disturbing even, as silly and paranoid, choosing to base my opinions on the facts like the police officer I was. I'd even defended them to the Quillietes when the old men's _superstitions_ had kept members of the tribe away from the hospital. At the time I'd been so angry with Billy for the perceived prejudice that I hadn't spoken to him for weeks.

I thought back to the way the Cullens had interacted with me today, polite and somewhat deferential, but remarkably self assured considering they'd been lying to a Chief of Police about the whereabouts of his teenage daughter. I remembered Edward, calmly lying to me about his "niece" and shuddered. He was a practiced liar and hadn't been the least bit ashamed at being caught out a moment later. I'd always found the boy's calm air of superiority a little off, but now I was beginning to realize just how off it really was.

The image of Bella's face, hauntingly alien and beautiful, but anxious in a way that was very familiar and so classically _Bella_, came to my mind and I suppressed a shudder. I needed to accept this, whatever it was, for _her_ sake. Whatever they – or _he _– had done to her, it had been done with her blessing, apparently to save her from the illness, or more accurately _pregnancy_ that made her sound so awful on the phone just a week earlier. I _had_ to accept this.

But even now, my mind seemed incapable of pulling the facts together into an acceptable whole. They'd been absent for a month, but the pretty baby in Bella's arms appeared three months old at least. What had the alarmingly brief pregnancy done to her?! I let my mind consider that for about two seconds before repeating my new mantra in my head – _need to know, need to know, need to know._

And right now there were things I _needed_ to know, such as how Billy was going to explain that he'd known about this all along and had never said a word! My best friend had stood idly by, watching my daughter get involved with them until she was in it up to her neck, and had never once thought to warn me of what could be coming. If only I'd known, I'd never have allowed ... but no, Bella wouldn't have listened. I knew that.

I took a deep breath. I was ready for this - ready to perform this _interrogation_.

With purposeful steps I reached the front porch and knocked, prepared for the familiar sound of Billy's chair rolling over to answer. Instead, however, the door opened almost at once, and the harsh words I'd been prepared to spout died in my throat as the delicious smell of home cooked fish wafted out. Sue Clearwater stood tall in the doorway, eying me speculatively, her daughter peeking out from behind her.

"S'cuse me Mom," Leah murmured, edging around to get out the door. "Hey Charlie," she said, blowing past quickly with what could only be described as a sympathetic smirk.

"Make sure Seth eats something other than junk for dinner!" Sue called after her as she jogged away.

"I'm not his keeper!" Leah retorted. "Plus I think the _Cullen's_ fed him."

"Hmmm," Sue murmured, her sharp brows turning down in disapproval - whether at Leah for her attitude, or Seth for eating with the Cullens, I was unsure. Like many on the reservation, Sue had consistently shown a discomfort with the doctor and his family. It had angered me before. Now –well, now I needed answers.

Leah sprinted off into the night, presumably running home, and Sue gestured for me to enter. "C'mon Charlie," she ordered. "I have a big serving of fish casserole with your name on it, and you're letting the flies in."

"Right," I said stiffly, allowing myself to be ushered through to the kitchen table, her firm hand on my shoulder. Billy was there already, half a beer in hand, apprehension clear on his face. Oh yeah. He knew what was coming.

"Jake call ahead?" I asked.

"No," Sue answered in a no nonsense tone, cutting Billy off as he opened his mouth, "Leah came by and told us Jake went to visit you," she strode to the oven and the delicious smell intensified as she brought a big clay dish out to the table, forcefully reminding me of all the times Bella had whipped up culinary masterpieces in my kitchen at home. "She told us he gave you quite the shock this morning, turning into –"

"Don't say it!" I quickly interrupted, trying not to think about the way my heart had just about stopped beating in such close proximity to the giant ... _thing_ that Jake had become. Sue and Billy shared a startled look, Sue pausing in the act of spooning a serve of casserole into my bowl. "I'm dealing with this on a 'need to know' basis," I clarified. "I don't need to know about Jake."

"Alright," said Billy cautiously, as Sue picked up her momentum again, quickly getting three bowls served and taking her seat. They looked at each other again, and I didn't try to interpret their silent communication. Instead I focussed on the fantastic taste of the Casserole as I started to eat, stalling for time.

"So, I hear congratulations are in order," said Sue carefully.

I gave her a sharp look. "So you already know I'm a Grandpa then," I said, a little acidly. They'd known _that_ before me too. Great. "Have you two been over there to visit already then?" Their kids all certainly had.

Sue tensed a bit, and Billy gave a slight shudder. Looking between them, I realised that whatever it was about the Cullen's that had convinced them to keep their tribe away from the hospital was still an issue for them. The idea of visiting the mansion was repulsive to them, despite the fact that Jake and Seth appeared more than comfortable hanging out here.

Suddenly I felt quite defensive. My daughter and her beautiful 'newborn' baby were in that house, and there was nothing wrong with either of them! Whatever else was going on here, I wasn't going to let the superstitions of this tribe hurt my family.

"Congratulations _are_ in order," I declared fiercely, earning a surprised look from Billy and a small, wan smile from Sue. "Did you know they named her after me?" I said pointedly, letting my pride over this fact shine through.

Billy's surprise turned to confusion as he gave Sue another worried look. "Charlie," he began hesitantly, as though about to break some uncomfortable news. "Jake said they named her after her Grandmothers. It's 'Renesme', right? 'Nessie' for short? "

"Renesme _Carlie,_"I corrected him, remembering how eagerly Bella had told me I had a namesake. "They combined the Grandpa's names too."

Sue's smile widened momentarily before her face became serious again. "And you've seen Bella?" she asked, clearly worried.

"I've seen her," I said evasively, stabbing at a piece of fish with my fork, not quite sure how to broach the topic I really wanted to discuss - the one where I demanded to know how Billy could have left me in the dark for so long.

"How is she?" he asked, sincerely concerned.

I considered this. How was she really? Different of course, and tense – I'd noticed the way she kept holding her breath, and locking her jaw - heartbreakingly beautiful ... and happy. There was no mistaking that she was happy. "She's good," I said, "better than she was on the phone last week."

They nodded, both of them now watching me as though I were a volcano that might erupt at any moment. Would I erupt? I was well known for my temper, I knew that, but I didn't feel it brewing under the surface. I was still in too much shock I supposed.

"You kept this from me," I said, sounding rather blank, even to my own ears.

"Yeah," said Billy, his tone surprisingly strong, revealing only the slightest hint of guilt.

I looked him in the eye. "Did you know what would happen? That they could change her like that?"

Billy nodded. "I knew she'd made a decision. An informed one."

"Decision?" I barked sharply, suddenly feeling a ghost of anger. "They said she was sick, that this was the only cure!" They exchanged another look, and this time it pissed me off. "I don't want the details of any of this, but I won't be lied to any longer!" I said, repeating the tirade I'd given Edward. "This has gone on long enough!" Maybe they were right to anticipate explosions.

Their reactions were much more satisfying that the unshakable calm Edward had shown in the dace of my earlier speech - Sue dropped her fork and reached out deftly to put a comforting hand on my shoulder as Billy blanched.

"My _honest_ understanding," he said carefully, "is that Bella decided she wanted to be ... _changed ... _ more than a year ago, but they only agreed to it after it was apparent that her life was in danger."

"That's the truth?" I demanded, suspicious of his tone.

He sighed. "I'm having a hard time knowing what to say with this 'need to know' thing Charlie," he groused.

I ran my hands through my hair and growled in frustration. He had a point. I wondered briefly how much information would be too much. How far could I push this before the Cullens would just up and disappear, taking my family with them? "There was no 'need to know thing' when he started coming around to my house Billy," I said harshly, "what held you back then?"

Billy nodded once, slowly, appearing to mull the question over, but I knew him well enough to see that he'd already thought about how he should answer this. "We had a complicated agreement with them," he said. "One that was in place to ... protect all of us," he steepled his hands in front of him, his elbows resting on either side of his food, and as he raised his head to regard me directly, I caught a quick glimpse of something - a light or wisdom that I had occasionally caught in his eyes before. "Part of our side of the agreement was that we would not reveal them to anyone."

I stared at him, and it suddenly struck me that Billy was a _part_ of this. He wasn't just the parent of a bizarre supernatural creature, he was supernatural himself!

"An 'agreement'," I muttered bitterly, thinking back to Edward's words on secrecy and protection. I quickly put this agreement, whatever it was, into the 'no need to know' category before asking something I wasn't sure I _wanted_ to know. "Billy," I said. "Tell me you don't turn into some ... some ... kind of ..." I stuttered, unable to finish, feeling a new level of horror was now beginning to rise at this idea.

"No," Billy assured me with an ironic smirk, and I had the fleeting impression he regretted that this was the case. "It's hereditary, but it skipped a few generations. I'm still just plain old Billy Black Charlie."

I nodded, taking that in with a certain amount of relief - and suddenly he _was_ just plain old Billy Black again, and I was just Charlie, and we were just friends having dinner. "Well, that's something at least," I said with a bit of a smile, which Billy immediately returned with a look of gratitude. I heard Sue exhale and realised she'd been holding her breath. I felt her hand pat my knee under the table, subtly thanking me for not being harsher on my best friend.

"Truth be told Charlie, I _did_ verge on breaking that agreement on several occasions," Billy was saying. "It's been a tough couple of years for all of us I think."

Sue snorted at this, but in a good natured way, reminding me of the trials she's been through in the last year. The memory of Harry's funeral - Seth and Leah on either side of their stone faced mother, Seth's tears rolling down his cheeks, Leah proudly holding it together with one arm solidly around Sue's waist - had a quick sobering effect on me as a few things suddenly fell into perspective. Bella was alive and well, and _happy. _I had a beautiful new granddaughter, utterly perfect, even if there _were_ a few things about her that would not be easily explained.

I thought of Seth again, hanging out in the Cullen's open lounge without a shirt or shoes. I thought of Leah sprinting off into the forest when I arrived, also shoeless. I thought of Sam Uley's 'gang' that Bella had been so upset about all those months ago, the one Jake had joined, the one Billy had defended. I remembered them bringing Jake back to his house after he'd been injured a few months back, all of them shirtless and shoeless, all of them tall and built like tanks ...

"Seth and Leah are like Jake, aren't they," I stated flatly.

Sue nodded, unperturbed by my observation. "It was hard for a while," she stated matter of factly. "It started after Harry was ... gone, and I was completely unprepared," seeing her stumble over the subject of Harry, I decided it was my turn to offer some comfort, and awkwardly returned her gesture from earlier, patting her knee under the table. She gripped my hand in hers gratefully for a quick second before releasing me. My hand felt warm from the contact. "I think it helped Seth through a tough time though," she continued, "gave him something else to focus on. Leah wasn't so happy with it though." She grimaced.

I nodded, unsure what else to say, and not really wanting to encourage further talk about ... things I didn't need to know.

"Well," I said heartily, trying to bring the conversation back down to reality. "Since you two have yet to meet my beautiful granddaughter, I think we will need to organise a time for us all to go visit." The idea became more appealing as I spoke. It would be good to have some normal human beings with me next time I arrived at the Cullen house. I had been grievously outnumbered today, and it would be good to be able to hold on to a sense of reality while I was there. I also felt compelled to show the odd little bundle of joy off to my friends, and was immensely grateful that these two at least were already in on the conspiracy.

"That sounds good," said Sue, but I could tell the idea worried her. She quickly buried whatever misgivings she held as she spoke her next words though: "It's time I saw where Seth is spending so much time. And Billy should meet Nessie sooner rather than later I think." She said the latter with a suspiciously speculative gleam in her eye.

"I'm sure Jake will get her down to the beach soon enough," said Billy placidly, an odd mixture of apprehension and amusement on his face. "I'll meet her soon Charlie," he assured me with a small chuckle. "No need to be concerned over that. But I might pass on your invitation for the time being."

I felt a flash or irritation at him, but decided to let it go. Sue would be there at least, and after hearing her say that she too had been ill-prepared for the supernatural invasion, I was starting to feel that we should band together.

We passed the rest of the evening well enough. I copped some teasing for being the first Grandpa of the group, Billy and I organised our next fishing expedition and agued over the odds of next Saturday's football match. Sue told a few stories about some particularly naive tourists borrowing surfing gear from her store on the reservation.

I let myself be lulled by the normalcy into forgetting the bizarreness of my afternoon.

Before long, Sue was gathering the dishes from our dessert (she'd made brandy cups with berries and cream) and telling Billy not to worry as he moved to help her, ushering him off to the television where he was planning to spend some time catching up on hockey matches.

I'd joined Sue at the sink and grabbed a towel to dry when the front door burst open and Jake barged through, looking perturbed.

"Everything alright son?" Billy called out, without bothering to take his attention from the screen.

"Edward kicked me out," Jake mumbled in frustration, plonking himself down at the kitchen table and discovering the leftover berries and cream. "Hey," he said despondently in our direction by way of greeting.

I checked the time. "It's twelve-thirty Jake," I admonished. "You don't think maybe they'd like some sleep?"

He snorted. Apparently he didn't think sleep was on the agenda just yet.

I tried not to speculate on what else Edward might be doing right now, and was baffled anew at Jake's revised attitude toward the Cullens. A month ago he'd been a mess over the wedding – there were still a few missing person posters around the main shops and roads in neighbouring towns – but now he couldn't seem to be more excited at the idea that they had a child? And couldn't bear leaving the house at midnight?

"Need to know," I muttered to myself, trying to ignore Sue's probing eyes as I went back to drying dishes.

She saw me out to my car.

"How are you holding up?" she asked in a deceptively casual way.

I nodded, hoping that answered the question. A moment later I realised that she was still waiting for an answer.

"I ... I don't ..." I couldn't reply. The truth was that I was terrified. Terrified that they would leave, that I would not be allowed to see Nessie grow up, the way I had not been allowed to watch Bella grow up; terrified of not understanding the situation, but also of knowing too much. I felt resentment toward my son in law, his parents, my best friend and even at Bella for the layers of deception, and I was afraid for their safety - the need for protection had been stated more than once in the last twelve hours.

Sue seemed to understand and reached out to grip me in a tight hug, and I clung to her for awhile, standing there with her arms wrapped around me, allowing her to share some of the burden.

The embrace ended and I nodded again awkwardly, not meeting her eyes.

"I'm coming around to cook you dinner tomorrow night," she stated in a way that brooked no room for argument, "and you'll pick me up on your way to the Cullen's next time."

I nodded again as I climbed into the cruiser.

"Goodnight Charlie," she said.

"Goodnight," I said, getting the car into gear and heading home.


End file.
